Claiming for clinical negligence (more commonly known as medical negligence) is something that many people can find daunting or would not know where to start.
At the end of the day when you are unwell or injured and need health care it is not unreasonable to expect the very best, whether it is private or through the NHS, whether it is with a nurse, doctor, surgeon or even a dentist.
The majority of times you require treatment you will receive the very best in quality and everything will run smoothly but accidents do happen and in some cases, they can lead to serious injury, illness that can affect you badly and if this has happened because of clinical negligence then you shouldn’t suffer in silence.
Recent reports have displayed that people are finding it more and more difficult to understand and negotiate the NHS complaints system and in many cases the patient is forced to give up.
Figures also revealed that thousands of wronged patients feared reprisals for their family and friends in the future if they did speak up. These are exactly the reasons seeking the help of a clinical negligence lawyer is so important.
The health services in this country naturally have a defensive culture towards complaints as far as negligence is concerned and one of the hardest parts of a clinical negligence case is proving guilt.
With the specialist nature in most cases you will need expert witnesses to support your complaint and prove that you worsened condition was in fact caused by the negligence of the doctor, nurse, dentist or other health official responsible for your treatment and that can be hard to get when you are pursuing the complaint on your own.
There has to be proof of how the negligence worsened your condition and what negative effects it has or will have on your life moving forward as the main focus of a clinical negligence case bizarrely isn’t the negligence aspect but what it discomfort, harm or injury it has caused.
Whether you are claiming for yourself or on behalf or a loved one, clinical negligence claims are very rarely simple and often take a long time to play out thanks to a number of different facts including, as mentioned before, the defensive nature of the health services towards the complaints, proving your injury was caused by negligence which is likely to include further medical examination and then there is the claim process in itself.
But if you feel like you have been wronged then you should pursue a claim. The amount you can claim for clinical negligence will obviously vary depending on how severe the injury that has been caused is but if you have been forced to miss more time in work or if it has forced the kind of injuries that will affect you moving forward then you can certainly get compensation that will help you deal with the financial impact your injury is bound to cause.
It will also cover the cost of any adaptations you may need around the house and rehabilitation programs that you may need to recover from the injury and in the worse cases permanent care programs.
You have already suffered unnecessarily because of the negligence of the person who was supposed to be looking after your health, so it doesn’t allow yourself to endure more suffering afterwards by struggling to afford the adaptations and care you need to get better.
Image source(s)
1. Shutterstock; Wavebreak Media; https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/patient-wheelchair-looking-down-hospital-ward-111181277